Windows Vista Team Blog : BitLocker

New Whitepaper: The Business Value of Windows Vista

Chris Flores — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 19:15:00 GMT

This one is for all you IT professionals out there. A lot of you are probably having discussions inside your company about when to deploy Windows Vista, or you've deployed it and want to know which of the new capabilities can have the biggest impact on your business.

To help in your evaluations we've released a new white paper, The Business Value of Windows Vista: Five Reasons to Deploy Now. (Download the XPS or PDF.) This document summarizes the top enterprise features, latest customer case studies, and research on the capabilities of Windows Vista all in one place.

What are the top 5 reasons? Here's a peek at what's inside the doc:

1. Improves the Security of PCs and Confidential Data. Windows Vista Enterprise had 20% fewer security vulnerabilities than Windows XP SP2 did in 2007-and it includes BitLocker Drive Encryption to help protect your confidential data.
2. Unlocks the Potential of Today's Mobile PCs. Windows Mobility Center helps users quickly access key mobility settings all in one place and research shows that Windows Vista can help customers save as much as $251 per mobile PC, per year.
3. Makes You and Your People More Productive. Find the information you need on your computer and reduce time spent searching for information by up to 42%.
4. Speeds ROI with Rapid Deployment and Migration. New imaging technologies and free deployment tools make the process of deploying Windows Vista easier than with any previous version.
5. Reduces Support and Management Costs. The costs saving can come from multiple places including reduced help desk calls, less time spent on image maintenance, or a lower energy bill.

This document is designed for you to use and share with others in your organization that may have questions about Windows Vista. You can also find this whitepaper and others on the Windows Vista Enterprise Web site.

10 Things - Using BitLocker, even without a TPM

Nick White — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 19:15:00 GMT

While you may have heard of BitLocker, what you may not know is that you don't need Trusted Platform Module to use it on your system.

BitLocker Drive Encryption is a new security feature integrated into the Windows Vista operating system that provides considerable protection to the OS and data stored on the operating system volume. BitLocker ensures that data stored on a computer running Windows Vista remains encrypted even if the computer is tampered with when the operating system is not running. This helps protect against "offline attacks" -- those made by disabling or circumventing the installed operating system, or by physically removing the hard drive to attack the data separately. In other words, attacks made when the system is not running.

Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption provides increased security by encrypting everything on your hard drive: data, programs and even Windows itself. When you use BitLocker, your system is more difficult to tamper with, and thus you are better protected if your computer is ever lost or stolen. BitLocker does not replace the need to use a strong password and other vital security features, but it does make it much harder for anyone else to read the information stored on your hard drive.

BitLocker is designed for systems that have a compatible TPM microchip and BIOS. (A compatible TPM is defined as a version 1.2 TPM.) A compatible BIOS must support the TPM and the Static Root of Trust Measurement as defined by the Trusted Computing Group. When available, BitLocker uses a system's Trusted Platform Module (TPM) to provide enhanced protection for your data and to assure early boot component integrity. The chip performs a system integrity check -- a process that verifies your computer system has not been tampered with -- before unlocking your drive and allowing access to the data stored on it. This helps protect data from theft or unauthorized viewing by encrypting the entire Windows volume. Although the TPM interacts with BitLocker at system startup, its protection is transparent and the user logon experience is unchanged. However, if the TPM is missing or altered, or if the start-up information has changed, BitLocker will enter recovery mode and the user will be required to enter a recovery password to regain access to the data. For more information about TPM specifications, visit the TPM Specifications section of the Trusted Computing Group's Web site.

A great thing about BitLocker is that even if you do not have a TPM 1.2 chip, you can still use the encryption it provides, but the system integrity checking enabled by the TPM will be unavailable.

For information about how to enable BitLocker on your computer without using a TPM 1.2 chip, see the BitLocker Drive Encryption Step-by-Step Guide. You can also find more information about the requirements for BitLocker Drive Encryption, including partitioning, start-up options and recovery options.

Vista Squad Event

James Senior — Wed, 16 May 2007 09:43:00 GMT

Long time, no post! I just wanted to give you a quick headsup about the Vista Squad holding their second meeting at Microsoft HQ in Reading, UK on the 24th May kicking off at 5.30pm.

The Vista Squad is a user group for Windows Vista and they meet on a regular basis to discuss all things related to Windows Vista from product features to coding. Besides the two presentations, given by experts from around the UK, there's a great chance to network with other enthusiasts and enjoy some of the pizza laid on for the event. This month, the agenda includes a talk on Bitlocker from Microsoft's very own Stephen Lamb and an introduction to WPF from Ray Booysen - jedi coder from DotNet Solutions.

For more information and to register for the event be sure to follow this link.

Should be a good event - so hope to see you there!

Windows Vista Ultimate Extras Revealed

Nick White — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 10:44:00 GMT

This year's keynote at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas by Bill Gates showed off Microsoft's upcoming Ultimate Extras for consumers who purchase the Windows Vista Ultimate SKU. MS now has three Ultimate Extras lined up to hit Windows Vista Ultimate users on 30th January to coincide with Windows Vista's general availability date.

Windows DreamScene: Windows DreamScene gives users the ability to use a video as their desktop background, just as they would any stationary image background. DreamScene will consist of high-quality looped videos that make your desktop come alive. As a default, we've included a nice waterfall video (shown at the keynote) among several others. Better yet, you can even use your own videos. Want to know a little-known secret? For computers that support Windows Aero, DreamScene offers enhancements to positioning of stationary images as wallpapers in Windows Vista.

BitLocker and EFS Enhancements: MS will provide enhancements to BitLocker in Ultimate Extras, including a tool called the Secure Online Key Backup, with which you can store your BitLocker recovery password on a secure MS website.

Texas Hold'em Poker Game: MS is bringing this popular poker game to Windows Vista. With this Ultimate Extra, you can add to your Windows gaming experience. Hold'em players: Windows Vista's DirectX improvements give you amazing graphics effects in the game -- you can play up to five computer players at once. We've also thrown in the ability to customize the table and cards, too.

Ultimate Extras are slated for release on 30 January, and this is just the beginning -- we're not stopping here. More Ultimate Extras are coming. You're going to want to pay special attention to the brand new Windows Ultimate Web site for updates and information on current and upcoming Windows Vista Ultimate Extras.